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Big Blue 03/15/17
#1
Wiperslayer and I got up to Bear lake on Wens and were greeted with a thin layer of ice. Had to take it slow for the first mile or two then it pretty much was smooth sailing to the Rock pile. We set up and started trolling and after a little while we figured out what they wanted and we were on the fish. Nothing too big, cutts up to 24" including two tagged fish but it turned out to be one of our best days ever on Big Blue. Only saw a few other boats there, one of them turned out to be Kentofnsl. Good seeing you there Kent. Pretty cool in the morning with a slight breeze but not a bad day at all. We were trolling with down riggers and if any of you know the Rock pile, you know the danger of trolling too close to the bottom there. We did have several snags that ate a couple of lures but we also snagged a lure, so it almost equaled out[Wink]. Still lots of snow up there but no problems on the drive up and back.
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#2
Looks like you all had really nice day for sure! Those were some nice catches, did they fight at all? On the tagged ones, there isn't a tagged contest up there is there, or do they want to report it to DWR for monitoring purposes?
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#3
You gotta love when the catching is good. Especially on the prettiest lake in Utah. As for the tagged fish, it's funny how that works. I was fishing on Big Blue one time and was telling my daughter that I'd never caught a tagged fish. She caught a tagged cutt and I caught a tagged laker all that same day.

Way to take one back from the rock pile! I've got a few Rapalas, dodgers and downrigger clips on that pile of rocks. Glad to know it gives them back occasionally.

When you get the tag information back, please share. It's always fun to see how old they are and where they've been.
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#4
Some fought good, others, not so much but in general nothing like a wiper. All tagged fish in Bear lake are only for the purpose of checked how they are growing, as far as I know. They tag and measure them when they spawn, at least the cutts, then when anglers check them or they get them again when the spawn, they check them to see how much they have grown since the last time they were caught. Bearlakefishguy is the biologist we give the numbers to, them he records the info and will tell you when it was last caught. He can also tell you the approx age and how much it has grown since the last time it was caught. You don't remove the tag, you just write the number down and the length then relay the info to Scott.
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#5
Nice seeing you and Ira out there fishing and thanks for letting us know where to drop our jigs. Curious about the naming of your photos?
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#6
LOL, on the same file that I downloaded the pics with the Bear lake photos I also had some perch from Willard. I renamed the perch pics but it looks like I forgot to rename the BL pics[blush].
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#7
Wondered if that was the purpose of the tags - Thanks for the info. Bear Lake is one place still on our maybe someday list of places in Utah fish - there are so many options here yet its easy to settle on few until you really 'learn' how to fish them successfully before adding in a another new one to try.
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#8
Good job guys
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#9
I saw you guys trolling on the rockpile. I was there as well with my kids. We went to another place on the east side around noon. It sure was a nice glass day out there. We never touched a mac, only cuts.....
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#10
Which boat were you in, was it that big Wellscraft? If so, thats a very nice boat. Did you do better on the East side? When things slowed down on the RP we considered going to the East side but never did make it.
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#11
Yes that was us in the weldcraft. Thank you, it is a fun family toy for sure. We went all over looking for fish on the east side but only found a couple of small groups, my boy got his biggest cutt ever right at 8lbs. It was a beautiful day on bear lake. I love it when there is no wind....
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#12
Awesome, congrats to you son on the big cutt. Sorry if we got too close but Ira isn't shy about that. I thought you might be someone I knew but I could not any BFT stickers on your boat. I thought maybe you were a guide because you were showing the younger guy some stuff around the boat, guess he was your son[:/].
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#13
You guys didn't get too close. Being on the rockpile a guy gets used to being around other boats. I don't get too worried about it. I am far from a guide, I have alot to learn. Yes my son is only 13 but looks like a grown man from a distance. We have the trolling figured out but are trying to become better at jigging....
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#14
We have jigged for so many years at BL that trolling is a welcome change. Sounds like jigging produced some bigger fish for you and that other BFT member up there on Wens. They were the ones in the bass style boat that moved from the North of you to the South, after we went over and talked to them. They caught a 10lb plus mack there jigging. Not sure what the deal was but every time we went by that spot, just to the South of you, we caught doubles, three times in a row[crazy]. We were not marking any more fish there but I guess they were on the bottom. How long have you had the new boat?
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#15
That general area that you are talking about has been good for me this spring. I saw you guys get at least one of your doubles that morning, you were killing it there. I have had it since 2011. I love it for trolling but for jigging its a big kite and is hard to hold in the wind but, I am getting better at it. I enjoy bear lake a lot but would much rather be over to the Gorge jigging up those macks. Bear Lake is a good place to practice....lol[Wink]
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#16
Considering you live closer to BL, I'd fish it more than the Gorge too. It's got to cost some $$ to haul your boat to the Gorge and back. We ended up with 13 total for the day, all cutts, just wish one of them had been as big as your sons cutt or that mack Kent got in his boat but thats life. It was still one of our best days there, no matter what[Smile].
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#17
[quote wiperhunter2]

We have jigged for so many years at BL that trolling is a welcome change.

[/quote]

Why?
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#18
LOL, because trolling is more fun, IMO. Jigging is good when the action is good but when its slow, it's boring and a snooze fest.
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#19
When I got my first boat I primarily trolled, but over the years I have migrated to vertically jigging most of the time. I still enjoy trolling, on other angler's boats, if that is their preferred way to fish, but otherwise, give me vertically jigging.
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#20
Maybe it's just me, but I catch bigger fish jigging than I do trolling... That's why I jig when I can... However, my last trip on Friday wasn't like your trip... I ended up with one cisco and one early released fish, like right after it was hooked I lost it... So I probably should have trolled seeing how things turned out, had a friend over there that got a few trolling that day and seen a couple other fish pulled up by folks jigging, but it was sort of a slow day... But perfect weather after the skim of ice went off... Later J
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